Assessment of the effectiveness of low-dose chest computed tomography in the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia

Abstract

Aim:  To determine whether low-dose chest computed tomography (CT) imaging protocol is appropriate in terms of technical success and radiation safety, by comparing it with standard protocols in terms of reaching diagnosis and X-ray exposure. Additionally, to investigate radiation dose criteria in patients undergoing CT scan for COVID-19.
Method: CT scans of 149 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between January 2022 and March 2023 were analyzed. Patients were randomly assigned to either a standard protocol or a low-dose protocol. Factors such as technical success, diagnostic accuracy, exposure dose and side effects were analyzed.
Results: A statistically significant difference was found between low-dose and standard-dose CT scans for tube current-time product (p<0.001), CTDI (p<0.001), DLP (p<0.001), effective dose (p<0.001). , and cancer risk (p<0.001).
Conclusion: The low-dose CT protocol in COVID-19 patients yields similar results to standard protocols in terms of technical success and diagnostic accuracy, while significantly reducing exposure dose. Therefore, the use of low-dose protocol can be considered as an option to reduce the radiation dose that patients are exposed to.